al-Hadara al-Islamiyya Ususuha wa-Wasailuha wa-Suwar min Tatbiqat al-Muslimin Laha wa-Lamahat min Tathiriha fi Sair al-Umam
- Author died
- 1425 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Qalam
al-Hadara al-Islamiyya: Ususuha wa-Wasailuha wa-Suwar min Tatbiqat al-Muslimin Laha wa-Lamahat min Tathiriha fi Sair al-Umam (Islamic Civilization: Its Foundations, Means, Pictures of Muslim Applications, and Glimpses of Its Influence on Other Nations) is a comprehensive treatise on Islamic civilizational theory and history by the Syrian scholar Abd al-Rahman Habannakah al-Maydani (d. 1425 AH / 2004 CE) .
Background and Composition
The book originated from lectures delivered by al-Maydani while teaching a course on Islamic civilization at the College of Sharia and Islamic Studies at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca . It was initially published in an abridged two-part form titled Usus al-Hadara al-Islamiyya wa-Wasailuha (The Foundations and Means of Islamic Civilization), which went through two print editions before falling out of print .
Although al-Maydani had initially planned a four-part scheme, his engagement in authoring more than twenty-eight other books delayed the completion of the remaining sections for approximately twenty-eight years . Near the end of 1417 AH, when his publisher, Dar al-Qalam in Damascus, requested permission to reissue the work, he took the opportunity to revise the existing text and complete the final two sections . He completed the comprehensive manuscript in Ta'if on Saturday morning, 13 Rabi' al-Thani 1418 AH (16 August 1997 CE) .
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into general introductory chapters followed by four major parts (abwab) :
- General Introductions: Al-Maydani analyzes the definition of civilization, outlines the Islamic stance toward various forms of material and scientific progress, and discusses how intellectual and psychological foundations shape human societies .
- Part One (Intellectual Foundations): Examines the core ideological principles underpinning Islamic civilization across four chapters . These include commitment to truth (al-haqq) and combating falsehood (al-batil), adhering to goodness (al-khayr) and rejecting evil (al-sharr), universality and comprehensiveness (al-'alamiyya wa-al-shumul), and balancing doctrinal idealism with practical realism in human conduct .
- Part Two (Practical Means): Details the concrete mechanisms and educational, legislative, and institutional methods required to translate theoretical Islamic ideals into living civilizational realities .
- Part Three (Historical Applications): Reviews practical models of Islamic civilization across history, examining administrative structures, public finance, the judiciary, the market-oversight system (hisbah), military organization, architecture, Arabic calligraphy, textile, ceramic, and glass industries, as well as educational institutions ranging from mosque circles to major colleges such as al-Mustansiriyya and al-Azhar .
- Part Four (Influence on Other Civilizations): Surveys the impact of Islamic civilization on non-Muslim societies . It categorizes non-Muslim historians into hostile deniers, intermediary transmitters, and fair evaluators; examines historical Western assessments (such as Sigrid Hunke's Allahs Sonne über dem Abendland); details the conditions of medieval Europe; and explores the cultural influence of Islam on eastern conquerors such as the Mongols .
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